Holes
by mrcatlover1989
Summary: Sean is under the curse he has been sentenced to eighteen months at Camp Green Lake, and is faced with the falsely-nice Dr. Pendanski, the ornery Mrs. Ma'am, and the cruel Warden. What will he discover at Green Lake?
1. Camp Green Lake

Camp Green Lake:

Tent A: Striker, Mastiff, Scourge, Stigma, Spit, Bone, Pig

Tent B: Alpha, Finch, Lump, Griz, Ripper, Puppy, Dynamite

Tent C: Cracker, Squirt, Spike, Ace, Tox, Matchbox, Tiger

Tent D: X-Ray, Squid, Armpit, Magnet, Zigzag, Zero, Caveman (me)

Tent E: Boo, Easy, Snail, Toad, Drooler, Twiddle, Blue

Counselors: Ms. Lewis (Tent A), Ms. Quigley (Tent B), Ms. Mogensen (Tent C), Dr. Pendanski (Tent D), Ms. Rockton (Tent E)

Other staff: Mrs. Ma'am (Louise Walker), The Warden (Warden Wood)

I was on my way to 18 months at Camp Green Lake, in a Texas Youth Authority bus, with four of my friends. Three of us were white, and the other two African American. We had been found guilty of committing a group crime. We snuck over to the local volunteer fire department one night, and shot the siren that was on their roof with four guns, while it was going off. The siren fell to the ground, and we were busted. The judge gave us the choice of prison or Camp Green Lake. We chose Camp Green Lake. There wasn't much to see on the 9-hour drive. Mostly just fields of hay and cotton. The bus wasn't air conditioned, and the heat was almost as stifling as our handcuffs. We were on the same road for most of the trip. Eventually, it turned from paved to gravel. After 9 hours, I could see several buildings in the distance, and beyond them, I saw a lake. There were literally hundreds, if not thousands, maybe even millions of holes in the ground, some with boys in orange jumpsuits digging in them. As we approached the buildings, I noticed a sign that said TOWN OF GREEN LAKE. There were only 2 other people on the bus, besides us. The driver, who was an older, slightly-overweight man, and the guard. The guard sat across from the driver, wearing sunglasses. A rifle lay across his lap. The bus hit a bump, and slowed down. "Welcome to Camp Green Lake," the guard sighed. The bus came to a stop. The guard unlocked my handcuffs, and it felt good. "Thanks for the ride," I said to the driver. "Boys, follow me," said the guard.

We got off the bus. "Yo! Fresh meat!" I heard someone yell. The guard led us into a small building. A sign on the door said OFFICE. A woman in her early-50s was sitting with her feet up at a desk, watching the news on a small TV. She had red hair and lots of freckles on her face. Even though she was inside, she wore a cowboy hat and sunglasses. "What's with the M&Ms?" the guard asked. I saw there was a huge bowl of peanut butter M&Ms on her desk. "I quit smoking last month," said the woman in the cowboy hat. She had a tattoo of a rattlesnake on her right arm, its rattle seemed to move as she signed our files.

The woman in the cowboy hat took handfuls of peanut butter M&M's, and ate them. She drank a Soda bottle. "Sean Williams, Dylan Richardson, Quentin Harris, Michael Thomas, and Jay Jackson" she said, looking at us. There must have been a small refrigerator behind her desk, because the woman in the cowboy hat produced two more bottles of Soda. That made me even more aware of my thirst. She gave both to the guard, but said one was for the driver. "My name is Mrs. Ma'am. Whenever you speak to me, you will call me by my name, is that clear?" "Uh, yes Mrs. Ma'am," we all said. I had to bite the inner parts of my cheeks to stop myself from laughing at the dumb name. Mrs. Ma'am stood up. She was at least 6 foot, and looked even taller, since we were all shorter than her.

She walked out the office door, and we followed her. The camp looked like it was once a town. I guess it technically still was, because of the sign. "Look around here, boys" she said to us. "What do you see? Any guard towers or fences? Go ahead, start running away, I won't stop you." "I'm warning you!" she yelled at a boy standing on a porch outside one of the other buildings. There were five large, black tents. They each had a white letter on them. There were tents A-E. There was also an F tent, but it said STAFF ONLY under the letter F.

We then noticed that she had a revolver in a holster on her belt. "Oh, don't worry" she said, tapping her holster. She pulled the revolver out. "This here's for yellow-spotted lizards, I wouldn't waste a bullet on you." "We're not gonna run away, Mrs. Ma'am," Quentin says. "Good thinking, boys" she said. No one runs away from here. Do you know why? Cause there's no city for 100 miles. You wanna run away? You'll be buzzard food in three days." We walked into a small building labeled LIBRARY. Inside the building there was a washer, dryer, and lots of lockers.

A boy with "Lump" written on his jumpsuit was working. "Hi Mrs. Ma'am," Lump says. We each got two jumpsuits. Both were orange from head-to-toe, with a yellow-orange T-shirt and yellow socks. "You are to dig one hole each day," said Mrs. Ma'am. "Five foot deep, five foot wide. Your shovel is your measuring stick. You need to keep alert for lizards and rattlesnakes." "Rattlesnakes?" Dylan asks. "You don't bother them, they won't bother you," Mrs. Ma'am said. "Getting bit by a rattler ain't the worst thing that can happen to you, you won't die. Usually. But you don't wanna get bit by a yellow-spotted lizard. That _is _the worst thing that can happen to you. You _will _die, a slow and painful death. Always."

We all stepped outside and were greeted by three women. The one on the left looked to be in her late-30s or early-40s, was about 5'3", and really dorky-looking, with long brown hair, a big sunhat, sandals, knee-high socks that met the bottom of her shorts, a T-shirt and vest, and too much sunscreen on her nose. The one in the middle looked a little younger, probably in her early-30s, with short blackish hair, a white T-shirt, blue jean shorts, and a pair of worn-out tennis shoes. The one on the right looked about 25, and was tall, but not as tall as Mrs. Ma'am, skinny, and had blonde hair that fell a few inches past her shoulders that was pulled back in a ponytail, a white muscle tank, khaki shorts, a pair of black Adidas soccer sandals, and had on a pair of rectangular Ray-Ban sunglasses. "She's hot!" Dylan whispered, pointing to the blonde one.

"Boys, these are your counselors," announced Mrs. Ma'am. "Dr. Pendanski for Tent D, Ms. Lewis for Tent A, and Ms. Mogensen for Tent C. Sean, you'll be with Dr. Pendanski in Tent D. Quentin and Jay, you'll be with Ms. Lewis in Tent A. And Dylan and Michael, you'll be with Ms. Mogensen in Tent C." I heard Dylan whisper "Yes! I got the hot one!" Michael smiled at that. "I don't wanna hear that again," said the blonde. I followed Dr. Pendanski, Quentin and Jay followed Ms. Lewis, and Dylan and Michael followed Ms. Mogensen. Dr. Pendanski was going on and on about her name, which was pronounced Pen-DANCE-key.

"You'll be in Tent D," said Dr. Pendanski. "D Stands for Dilligence. That's the Mess Hall, there's the Rec Room, and those are the showers. There's only one knob 'cause there's only one temperature, cold. And that's the Warden's Cabin over there," she said, pointing to a small house, with a hammock between two oak trees near it. The edge of the large lake was in front of us. Peach trees aligned the shore. "That's the number one rule at Camp Green Lake, do not upset the Warden," Dr. Pendanski told me. "Yeah, she seemed kinda…," I said, assuming that Mrs. Ma'am was the Warden. "Who?" asked Dr. Pendanski. "Oh, Mrs. Ma'am? Oh, She's not the Warden. She's just been in a bad mood 'cause she gave up smoking." "Hey Mom, who's the Neanderthal?" someone drawled.

I turned to see three boys. The one on the right was African American, with dreadlocks and black-rimmed glasses. The one in the middle was white, with shaggy brown hair, a toothpick in his mouth, and a towel wrapped around a baseball cap on his head. The one on the left was also African American but he was quite overweight, smelled really bad, and wore a dirty green hat. "This is Sean," said Dr. Pendanski. "So what's happening with Barf Bag?" asked the larger African American boy. "Oh, Louis won't be returning," said Dr. Pendanski. "He's still in the hospital." "Sean, meet Rex, Allan, and Theodore," she said, pointing to the boys in order from right to left. "Hi," I said. "Yo, my name is X-Ray," Rex said. "And that's Squid, that's Armpit," he said pointing to Allan then Theodore. "Her, she's Mom," Allan said, pointing to Dr. Pendanski."They all have their little nicknames," Pendanski chuckled. "But I prefer to use their proper names. The names society will recognize them by. Theodore, why don't you show Sean his cot." "Go ahead, Pit," X-Ray said.

We all went inside Tent D. There were seven cots on one side of the room, each one less than two feet from the next. On the other side, there were seven crates stacked up on top of each other, against the wall, the open side of the crates facing the cots. A bare light bulb hung from the ceiling. "Barf Bag slept here," Armpit said, patting a disgusting-looking cot with a dried stain on it. No wonder the boy who had slept in it previously was nicknamed Barf Bag. "Welcome to your new home, Sean," Dr. Pendanski said. "Keep your bed clean." She went to the Rec Room to get the other boys.

Dr. Pendanski returned with three other boys. The first two were introduced by her as Jose and Ricky. They called themselves Magnet and Zigzag. Magnet was Mexican, with a shaved head and bandanna. Zigzag was really tall, with crazy blonde hair and blue eyes. The last boy either didn't have a real name or else he didn't have a nickname. He was small, African American, maybe mixed with some other race, and had an Afro. Both X-Ray and Dr. Pendanski called him Zero. "You wanna know why we call him Zero?" Dr. Pendanski asked. "Because there's nothing going on in his stupid little head." She playfully shook Zero's hair. "Did you tell him about the lizards?" Zigzag asked. "Ricky, Mrs. Ma'am already told him," Dr. Pendanski said. "Hey his name's not Ricky," X-Ray corrected. "It's Zigzag, alright." "Sean, if you have any questions, just ask Theodore," said Dr. Pendanski. "Theodore will be your mentor, you got that Theodore?" She took Armpit's hat off. "Yeah Mom, whatever," Armpit said. "I'm depending on you," said Dr. Pendanski. "It should be no labor to be nice to your neighbor."

A bell rang. "Dinner," X-Ray shouted. We went to the Mess Hall. Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, and Magnet were standing on the porch. "Hey, Theodore, is there a place where I can fill my canteen with water?" I asked Armpit. Armpit grabbed me and put me in a headlock. "I know he smells bad," said Squid. "Yo, my name is not Theodore!" Armpit growled. He shoved me to the ground. Then, he bent down. "It's Armpit!" he said in my face. I got up. "There's a spigot on the water tower next to the showers," he said. There was a tall water tower next to the showers, with a spigot on the bottom of it. I went over to it, and filled my canteen. "Thanks, Armpit," I said. "Whatever," Armpit said.

We got back in the Mess Hall. Unlike the counselors, all of the cooks were men. The menu was announced on the PA system. "Hot dogs, Hamburgers, Apples, Boston Cream Donuts, Cookies-and-Cream Milkshakes, Chicken Fingers, French Fries." "Hey, Sean, here! This is where you sit," said Zigzag. "So what'cha in here for?" asked Squid. "Me and four friends who are also here, in different tents, shot the siren at a fire department," I said. "That's right," said Dylan, who was sitting two tables away from us. "That's a safety risk," said Armpit. "They already did it," said X-Ray. Dylan and Quentin both walked over. "I love Ms. Mogensen," said Dylan. "She's definitely the hottest counselor here." "Ms. Lewis is good looking, too," said Quentin.

10:00 was bedtime. Armpit snored so loudly it was hard for me to sleep. Squid passed gas in his sleep. While I was asleep, I had a dream of a flashback of my life. "It's all because of your no-good-dirty-rotten-cow-stealing-great-great-grandfather," my grandpa said, at the dinner table. "That's who sealed our destiny." "There is no curse on this family," my mother insisted. "There's at least one on the men in this family," said my father. "What about your father, the first Sean Williams?" my mother asked my grandpa. "He wasn't so unlucky, he made a fortune in the stock market." "Some luck," said my grandpa. "But then he lost everything," said my father. "He was robbed, his wife murdered, by Kissin' Kate Barlow!" "Are you kidding me?" I asked. "Did she kiss her?" "Oh no, she only kissed the _men _she killed," said my father. "She left him stranded in the desert, no water and no food for 16 days," my grandpa said. "She'd have kissed him, she'd have killed him. You'd never been born," my father said.


	2. First hole is the Hardest

I awoke to the most annoying sound ever. It was the sound of a trumpet, like the one they play at horse races, over loudspeakers on the Rec Room. "What's that?" I asked. "It's the wake-up horn." said X-Ray. All of us went outside. It was still dark, and boys were pouring out of all the tents. We went to the "Library". Dr. Pendanski and Mrs. Ma'am were standing near it. Dr. Pendanski blew a whistle. "Smiling faces!" She called. "Smiling faces, you're a mole who digs the deepest hole, shovels on the left, milkshakes on the right." The door to the "Library" was opened, and there were several rows of shovels. I took the first shovel I saw, and X-Ray grabbed it out of my hand and gave me a much heavier one. "You see that red tape right there?" X-Ray asked me, pointing to the first shovel I got. "Yea," I said. "That means it's the smallest shovel," he said. "It's my shovel." To the right of the door, there were lots Cookies-and-Cream milkshakes on a shelf. I saw kids drinking them. I drank one. "You're kidding me, milkshakes for breakfast?" I asked. "Yes," said Mrs. Ma'am. I then got a shovel. We went into the desert and started digging. "If you find anything interesting, you are to report it to me or Pendanski. If the Warden likes what you find, you'll get the day off," Mrs. Ma'am said.

We had been digging on the for about 2 hours, the Sun was starting to come up, and our holes were about 3 feet tall. A blue pickup truck with a huge tank and other supplies in the back, pulled up. Loud music played inside it. Mrs. Ma'am stepped out of the cab. "Get your water, boys!" she yelled. We lined up behind the tank. X-Ray was first in line, and Zero was last. She filled each of our canteens. Zero finished his hole before all of the other boys. I was last, since I was new. I got in the shower when I was done. The water was freezing. It actually felt good, after being out in the hot Sun all day. After 4 minutes, the water automatically shut off. I got out of the stall. Just then, I heard the sound of a gun being loaded.

Mrs. Ma'am stepped out in front of me. Her revolver was drawn, but she wasn't aiming at me. "Don't move!" she said "Yellow-spotted lizard!" I turned. Sure enough, there was a lizard on the shower wall. It was light-green with yellow spots. Mrs. Ma'm fired at the lizard, but the bullet missed it. The lizard jumped off the shower wall, and started springing towards Mrs. Ma'am. I ran away, terrified. Her eyes widened in horror. She fired again, and this time killed the lizard. "Get yourself a good sleep, son," she said to me. "Yes, ma'am," I said. I ran back to the tent, and told the other boys about the lizard. They were telling me how close Mrs. Ma'am had come to being killed. "What color was its blood?" Zig-Zag asked. "I don't know, I couldn't tell," I said. "If Mrs. Ma'am didn't shoot it, you'll be in a hole," said Armpit. "Did you know that each one's got exactly 11 yellow spots?" Zig-Zag asked. "Yea, if you're ever close enough to count them, you're dead," said Squid. Just then, we heard another gunshot. Mrs. Ma'am must have still been on "lizard patrol."

I went to sleep. The next morning the recorded trumpet woke me up, just like the day before. Before digging, I wrote a letter to my mom.

_Dear Mom,_

_ I'm having a wonderful time at camp. We're gonna be out on the lake today. _

_ Once I pass the swim test, I'm gonna learn how to water ski. The other _

_boys aren't bad kids. To me they were just in the wrong place at the wrong_

_time. You'd like my counselor. She's a doctor. Say hi to dad and grandpa for me._

_Love,_

_Your son, Sean_

That day I found a fossil next to my hole. This time, the water truck was driven by Dr. Pendanski. She was much nicer than Mrs. Ma'am, while giving us our water. I showed her the fossil I found. "I found something," I said, handing it to her. "That's interesting," she said. "So, do I get the day off?" I asked her. "Sean, the Warden isn't interested in fossils," she said. "OK," I said. "I guess the lake was bigger once," I said. "It used to be the largest lake in Texas," she said. "There was also a town out here. Camp is what's left of the town. The Warden's grandfather owned the lake and half the town."

Later that day, we went out to the shore of the lake. Three cigarette boats and one rowboat, were anchored to the shore. Waves crashed on the shore. "See that green buoy out there," Dr Pendanski asked me. "Yeah," I said. "Swim there and back," she said. The buoy was about 50 yards away, and the swim there was difficult. The water was actually warm, due to the Sun. Once I reached the buoy, I swam back. The rowboat was for the counselors, when they rescued stranded water-skiers in the cigarette boats. I got on two skis on the back of one cigarette boat. Dr. Pendanski drove. X-Ray sat next to her, since it was his turn to water-ski next. I held onto a rope. Dr. Pendanski started the boat. She pressed another button, and the engine roared. The boat went so fast, that I literally flew on the skis. After about a half-mile, we turned back.

The water-skiing continued for about another hour. Then we went to the Wreck Room. A sign on the door said REC ROOM. The building was divided into two sections. One had a pool table, foosball table, several computers, an old TV, a boombox, and lots of chairs and couches. Zig-Zag was "watching" the TV, which only had static on the screen. Armpit ripped the dial off it, making Zig-Zag mad. The other section had a a treadmill, an exercise bike, and other exercise machines. The building must have once been a bar or saloon, because an old piano sat parallel against the wall one one side. Someone playing foosball pushed me onto Lump, who was sitting in a chair. "Watch it!" Lump yelled. "You watch it, man," I said. "What'd you say to me?" Lump demanded. He kicked me, and I fell onto the stool were the boombox was, knocking it over. Lump was standing up, and I pushed him back into his chair. "You're dead!" Lump yelled. He started hitting me. The rest of the boys from Group D came over and got Lump away from me. "Don't mess with Caveman," X-Ray said to Lump. "The Caveman's cool." "Did you see the Caveman?" said Squid. "Take it easy, man," Armpit said to Lump. "Keep that punk away from me!" Lump growled.


	3. Bjorn Williams and Madame Zeroni

My great-great-grandfather was named Bjorn Williams. He was born in Sweden.

When he was twenty-seven years old, he fell in love with Myra Stockholm, the most beautiful girl in the town.

Myra was thirteen. She would turn fourteen in two months, which is when her father decided she should get married.

It all started when Bjorn was shoveling in Morris Stockholm's barn, and Myra walked by, bringing some food to the pigs.

Bjorn's eyes widened. He had never seen a girl so beautiful before.

He leaned his shovel against the wall, and found Morris Stockholm, who was sitting outside.

Bjorn wanted to marry Myra, but so did Benjamin Johansson, the dairy farmer.

Benjamin was forty-nine years old and overweight, with gray hair and a long gray beard.

I will trade you my longest-tongued cow for your daughter," Benjamin offered.

"And what do you have?" Myra's father asked Bjorn.

"A heart full of love," said Bjorn.

Myra's father and Benjamin both laughed.

"He's just a boy!" Benjamin chuckled.

"I'd rather have a long-tongued cow," Myra's father said.

Desperate, Bjorn went to see Madame Zeroni, an old Egyptian woman who lived in the caretaker's house on the Stockholm farm.

He had become friends with her, though she was quite a bit older than him. She was even older than Benjamin Johansson.

Bjorn liked to visit Madame Zeroni, and listen to many stories.

Madame Zeroni had dark skin, and a very wide mouth. When she was looking at you, her eyes seemed to expand, and you felt like she was looking right through you.

"All you think about is Myra Stockholm," Madame Zeroni said. "I know," said Bjorn.

Madame Zeroni was sitting in a homemade wheelchair. She had no left foot. Her leg stopped at her ankle.

"Listen to Madame Zeroni," she said. "You should go to America. That's where my son is. That's your future, not Myra Stockholm. Her head's as empty as a flowerpot."

"But I love Myra," Bjorn said.

Madame Zeroni pointed to where she kept her cows, next to her porch. "Take that cow there," she said.

The cow unfurled her long pink tongue, which was ten inches to a foot long.

"But this solves nothing," said Bjorn.

"So, her tongue will get longer," said Madame Zeroni. "Every day, you lead the cow up the mountain, let it drink the water from the stream, while you sing:"

_"'If only, if only,' the woodpecker sighs_

_ The bark on the trees was as soft as the skies_

_ While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely_

_ He cries to the Moon, if only, if only."_

"Every day, her tongue will get longer, and you will get stronger," Madame Zeroni explained.

"But, after you give the cow to Stockholm, you must do one more thing for me. "Anything," said Bjorn. "You must carry me up the mountain, and sing while I drink, so I can get strong too," Madame Zeroni explained. "I want to go up there one last time before I die."

"But," she said, her voice now sounding ominous. "If you forget to come back for Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity!"

Every day, Bjorn did as he was told. He lead the cow up the mountain, and sang the song to her while she drank from the stream. Every day, her tongue got a little bit longer.

On the day of Myra's fourteenth birthday, Bjorn's cow's tongue was over three feet long.

Morris Stockholm summoned his daughter, and Bjorn blushed when Myra walked outside.

"Myra, who do you chose?" her father asked. "Benjamin Johansson or Bjorn Williams?"

"Gee, I don't know," Myra said. "Which cow has a longer tongue?"

Myra's father had both cow stick out her tongue, and he closely examined their tongues.

"These cows have two of the longest tongues I'd ever seen," he said. "Their tongues are the same length."

The cows stuck out their huge tongues, licking their owners.

"Oh, I know," Myra said. "I will think of a number between one and ten."

She closed her eyes. "OK, I'm ready," she said.

"Marry Benjamin," Bjorn growled. "I'm going to America."

Bjorn put on his hat, and he and his cow walked away from the Stockholm farm, to the center of town.

A sign at the dock read: PASSAGE TO AMERICA.

Bjorn and his cow got on one of the ships, and Bjorn fell asleep. His cow stuck out her giant tongue and licked her food, which was in a trough.

They were already more than halfway to America when Bjorn suddenly remembered his promise to Madame Zeroni.

_If you forget to come back for Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity!_

Bjorn wasn't afraid of the curse. Besides, "eternity" didn't seem like much longer than a week from Tuesday.

After over a month of being on sea, he and his cow got to New York.

There, Bjorn moved to a farm, where he and his cow lived. Townspeople always talked about how long his cow's tongue was.

He bred his cow with a bull, and she had a calf. He milked her every day, and she often licked him with her huge tongue while she was being milked.

Bjorn fell in love with, and married a woman named Sarah Miller. Their life was normal, but but bad luck seemed to follow them everywhere.

They named their son Sean, because that was Sarah's father's name. Sean the first used to love being licked by Bjorn's cow, with her giant tongue.

After their barn was struck by lightning for the fourth time in five years, Bjorn told Sarah about his broken promise to Madame Zeroni.

"I've been cursed since before I met you," he confessed. "Why don't you leave me, and find someone who is not cursed."

"But I love you," said Sarah.

They never left each other for the rest of their lives.


	4. Discovery on the Barren Desert

"Come on Caveman, dinner!" X-Ray called "Caveman?" I thought to myself. "It's better than Barf Bag," said Zero. It was the first time I ever heard him talk. We went to the Mess Hall. "So, I'm Caveman?" I asked. "Yep," said X-Ray. I had a dinner of an Apple and a Boston Cream Donut. Then a little while later we went to the Rec Room. "What about you, Jose?" Dr. Pendanski asked. "What do you want to do when you get older?" "I like animals," said Magnet. "You could work at a zoo," I said. "He belongs in a zoo," said Zigzag. "It's criminal the way they keep 'em locked up in cages," said Magnet. "No Jose, what you did was criminal," said Dr. Pendanski. "Even Zero here isn't completely worthless. What about you, Zero? What do you like to do?" "I like digging holes," said Zero. "Than you're in the right place for it, buddy boy," said Dr. Pendanski. Another counselor came into the Rec Room, with an envelope in her hands. "There's mail for Sean Williams," she said. I took the envelope from her and read the letter in it.

_My dearest Sean,_

_Your letter made me feel like one of the other moms_

_who can afford to send their kids to summer camp._

_Your father thinks he's real close to a breakthrough_

_on his foot odor project. I do hope so, Sean. Because_

_the landlord threatened to evict us, because of the odor._

_But don't worry, we were able to persuade him out of it._

_I feel sorry for the little old lady who lived in a shoe,_

_because it must have smelled really bad._

_Love,_

_Mom_

X-Ray had told me that if I ever found anything more, I should give it to him, because it wouldn't be fair if I got the day off, since I had only been at camp for a little while, and he had been at camp for over 6 months and never found anything, so he should get the day off. I had been at Camp Green Lake about 30 days, and still hadn't seen the Warden. I could go my entire 18 months without seeing the Warden, and be fine with it. Looking at the Warden's Cabin, it looked like the Warden lived in far more luxury than the campers and even the counselors.

The next day, we exited the Rec Room, all of us dancing. While we were dancing, Armpit raised his arms. He smelled even worse than he did with his arms down. "Armpit, put it down!" all of us yelled.

Three days later, while digging, I felt my shovel hit something metal. I dug out the area, and on my shovel blade was a small, gold, bullet-like tube that was about as long as my ring finger. One end was pointed and closed, and the other end was flat and open. There seemed to be some kind of design near the bottom on one side of the tube. I used a few drops of water from my canteen to clean it. It was a heart, with two letters in it. The letters were _K. B._ "Hey guys," I called. "I think I might have found something." X-Ray immediately jumped up out of his hole. Magnet also tried, but he fell back in his hole the first time and got up the second time. "Let me see that," said X-Ray. I gave it to him. "Oh, looks like an old shotgun shell or something, doesn't it?" said X-Ray. Magnet took the tube from him. "Nah, it's too skinny to be a shotgun shell," he said. "Nah, it's not a shotgun shell." "Yeah, no that's not a shotgun shell," I said. "See that little heart, with the letters in it, K.B?" "K.B.?" asked Magnet. "Yeah, that's Keith Barringer," said Zigzag. "Man, who is that?" Armpit asked. "He was in my math class this year," said Zigzag. "Good thinking, Zigzag, it must belong to him," Armpit said, shaking his head. "Must belong to him," Armpit repeated.

I gave the tube to X-Ray.

"I'm gonna show it to Mom," X-Ray said. "Maybe I'll get the rest of the day off!"

"No, your hole's already dug," I said. "Why don't you just turn it into Mom in the morning, that way you'll get the whole day off."

"That's good thinking, Caveman," X-Ray said. "Good thinking, Dog."

"Pretty smart Caveman," Squid said.


	5. The Warden

X-Ray kept the tube in his jumpsuit pocket all night. He did not tell any of the other boys about it.

The next morning, Dr. Pendanski was filling our canteens.

"There you are, Rex," she said, handing X-Ray his canteen.

Armpit was next in line. "Good morning, Theodore," she said, before filling his canteen.

"Mom, it's Armpit," Armpit growled. "I don't know no fool named Theodore, alright?"

"Well, I don't know no fool named Armpit," Pendanski said.

X-Ray went back to his hole and took the tube out of his pocket, throwing it into his hole. He picked it back up, acting like he had just found it.

"Hey, Mom!" he shouted from his hole. "I think I found something! Come here for a second, I think I found something."

It should have been me who shouted that.

Pendanski walked over to X-Ray's hole, where she took a look at the tube.

The boys in Group E were going to have to wait.

"Looks like an old golden bullet or something, doesn't it?" X-Ray asked. "It's nice, right? So, I get the day off now, right?"

"I think the Warden is going to like this!" Pendanski said, her eyes widening as she examined the tube more carefully.

"Hey, Jack," she said into her walkie-talkie. You better get down here, I think we found something."

"We got something nice," X-Ray smiled.

"We found something _nice_!" Pendanski said, into the walkie-talkie.

In the distance, I heard the sound of a car starting. It was coming from the direction of camp.

After about a minute, I looked up to see a white 1958 Chrysler Saratoga 2-door approaching the area where we were digging, a cloud of dust following behind it.

The vehicle screeched to a halt next to the water truck.

Mrs. Ma'am was the passenger. She was the first to exit the vehicle. The tall, redheaded head counselor swung the car door open with a mouthful of Peanut Butter M&Ms. She nods at Pendanski, who was watching with a smug expression.

Then it was like a movie. Slowly, the driver's side door opens. A short man with curly brown hair stepped out. He was almost a head shorter than Mrs. Ma'am, and wore a black cowboy hat and black cowboy boots with turquoise rhinestones, and the sleeves on his plaid, button-down shirt were rolled up.

"Oh my," Armpit muttered as the man walked towards X-Ray's hole.

"Is this where you found it?" he asked in a Southern drawl.

"Yes Warden, sir," X-Ray said.

"Dr. Pendanski, drive X-Ray back to camp," the Warden said. "But first, fill everyone's canteens."

"I already filled them," Pendanski said.

"Excuse me?" said the Warden.

"I had just filled them when Rex showed me what he found," Pendanski said.

"Excuse me?" the Warden said again.

He turned to me. "Caveman, will you come here, please?"

I was surprised he knew my name. I had never seen him before. In fact, until he stepped out of his car, I didn't even know the Warden was a man.

I nervously walked to where the Warden was standing.

"Now, is there any chance that you have taken a drink since she filled your canteen?" he asked.

"Oh no, I'm fine, I've got plenty," I said.

"Excuse me?" the Warden said.

"I might have drank some," I admitted.

"Thank you," said the Warden. "May I see your canteen please?"

I handed him my canteen and he shook it.

"Can you hear the empty spaces?" he asked Dr. Pendanski.

"Yes, I can hear it," Pendanski said.

"Then fill it," the Warden ordered. "If that's too much than you can grab a shovel and Caveman will fill the canteens.

Dr. Pendanski filled my canteen.

"Alright! Armpit, Squid! Get them wheelbarrows out of the truck!" Mrs. Ma'am yelled.

Armpit and Squid brought three wheelbarrows out of the back of the water truck.

Armpit had two, so he gave one to me.

The Warden got a pitchfork out of the back of the truck, as it was about to drive back to camp. "Y'all be good out here!" X-Ray called from the cab, the passenger window down.

"Zero, you take over X-Ray's hole," the Warden said.

"Magnet and Zigzag, you will keep digging where you have been. But you're each going to have a helper. Armpit, you'll help Zigzag, Squid will help Magnet, and Caveman, you'll work with Zero. We're going to dig the dirt twice!

"Zero will dig it out of the hole, and Caveman will carefully shovel it into a wheelbarrow. Armpit, you'll do the same for Zigzag, and the same with Squid and Magnet. If either of you find anything, you'll get the rest of the day off and a double shower."

I did as I was told. I shoveled all of the dirt dug up by Zero into my wheelbarrow, and took it a good distance away before dumping it, though I knew I wouldn't find anything. It was easier than digging my own hole.

"You're doing fine," the Warden told Armpit, Squid, and I. There's no hurry, we don't want to miss anything." "Yea, we don't want to miss nothin'" Mrs. Ma'am repeated.

The Warden couldn't keep still. He kept walking around, looking over the boys' shoulders, and sticking his pitchfork through the dirt piles.

After a while, he told us to switch places, so that Armpit, Squid, and I dug the dirt out of the holes, and Zero, Magnet, and Zigzag carried the excavated dirt around in the wheelbarrows.

After lunch, Zero, Magnet, and Zigzag, returned to digging, and Armpit, Squid, and I returned to the wheelbarrows. Sure enough, nothing was being found.

The Warden remained at the site for the rest of the day, along with Mrs. Ma'am and Dr. Pendanski. Occasionally, Mrs. Ma'am would leave to give water to the groups to the other groups of campers, but otherwise, she and the water truck stayed there.

We dug until each hole was well over six feet deep and wide. Still, it was easier for to dig a six-foot hole than it was for one boy to dig a five-foot hole.

"Alright, that's enough for today," the Warden said. "I've waited this long, I can't wait another day."

Mrs. Ma'am drove him back to his cabin.

"Hey, how'd he know all of our names, man?" I asked, as we were walking back to camp, from digging.

"Oh, he's got the whole place wired," Zigzag said. "Oh yeah he's got these little tiny microphones and cameras."

"So, he watches me everyday?" Magnet asked.

"He said he's got cameras and microphones," Armpit said. "Not microscopes."

"Man, don't listen to Zigzag," Squid said. "I read his file and it says he suffers from acute paranoia."


	6. Wishful Thinking

The Warden greeted us at breakfast the next morning, and went with us to the holes. Four dug in the holes, and three tended to the wheelbarrows.

I spent more time pushing a wheelbarrow than digging. For some reason. the Warden seemed to like me better as a wheelbarrow tender than a digger.

I carted away the excess dirt, and dumped it into previously dug holes. I was careful not to dump any of it into the hole where the gold tube was actually found.

"Today's the day, I can feel it!" the Warden said, while he and Mrs. Ma'am walking around in the big holes, which were now connected by tunnels.

"You know, the ancient Mesopotamians, they didn't have shovels," Dr. Pendanski said.

"Glad you're back, X-Ray," the Warden said, approaching X-Ray. "We need your sharp eyes."

Armpit pushed X-Ray out of the way, and handed the Warden what I recognized as the dial from the broken Rec Room TV.

"Sir, I found something," Armpit said. "Are you trying to be funny?" the Warden asked. "Or do you just think I'm stupid?"

"No sir, I-I wasn't trying to be funny," Armpit said, with a surprised look on his face.

"Well Armpit, you're little joke just cost you a week of shower privileges," Mrs. Ma'am said.

"Aw!" Everyone groaned.

"Aside from that, everything's going real well here," Mrs. Ma'am said.

"I don't think so, I want results," the Warden said. "Alright, everyone get back to work!" the Warden said loudly.

"You heard him, back to work!" Dr. Pendanski ordered.

"Man, you're sleeping outside," Squid said.

I could still see the gold tube in my mind. It seemed so familiar, yet I couldn't remember where I had seen it before.

I wondered if it could have been the lid of a fancy gold pen. _K.B._ could have been the initials of a famous author.

But the only famous authors I could think of were Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and Mark Twain.

Besides, it didn't really look like the top of a pen.


	7. The Warden gets Desperate

For the next two days, we continued to dig in and around the area where X-Ray had supposedly found the gold tube.

We widened X-Ray's hole, as well as the holes Magnet and Zigzag had been digging, until the fourth day, when all three holes met and formed one giant hole.

As the days wore on, the Warden became less and less patient. "Four days," he said, staring down at us while we were digging. "Four long days, and this is all you jackasses got to show for it."

"There probably ain't nothing down there," I heard Mrs. Ma'am say. "They would have found it by now." "I wouldn't say that when Jack's around," Dr. Pendanski said.

Today, we still had four boys digging, and the other three on wheelbarrow duty, but today I was no longer on wheelbarrow duty. I was down in the big hole, digging.

"I ain't on stupid pills," Mrs. Ma'am said. "What are you jollin' about?" the Warden asked. "If you cant get them to dig any faster, you can grab a shovel and join them, how bout that, huh?"

"Get to work!" Mrs. Ma'am roared, pointing to the four boys who were digging. She climbed down, into the big hole.

"This ain't no kindergartners in the sandbox, I want to see some effort here!" she shouted. " Or I'll put a hurt on you! I ain't just whistlin' "Bye-bye, Sue neither!"

"I'm surrounded by cow-turds," the Warden muttered.

At just that moment, Magnet was returning from a bathroom break. "Where have you been?" the Warden asked him. "Huh?"

"I had to…you know…" Magnet said. "Excuse me?" the Warden asked.

The Warden stabbed Magnet's chest with his pitchfork, sending Magnet tumbling backwards into the big hole. The pitchfork left four holes in his shirt, and four spots of blood on his chest.

"You're giving these boys too much water," the Warden told Dr. Pendanski.

We continued to dig until late afternoon, long after all the other groups had finished for the day.

I was still down in the big hole, along with Magnet, Armpit, and Squid. Zigzag, X-Ray and Zero were on wheelbarrow duty.

I dug my shovel into the side of the hole. I scooped up some dirt, and was raising it up to the surface when Squid's shovel hit me just below my right ear.

I collapsed. And I wasn't sure if I'd passed out or not. I looked up to see Squid staring down at me.

"Sorry man, it was an accident," Squid said. "Alright?"

"Hey, Mom!" Magnet called. "Caveman's been hurt."

I brought my fingers up the right side of my neck. I felt my wet blood and a pretty big gash just below my ear.

Magnet helped me to my feet, then out of the hole.

Mrs. Ma'am made a bandage out of a piece of her sack of peanut butter M&Ms, and taped it over my wound. Then she told me to get back to work. "It isn't nap time."

When I returned to the hole, Squid was waiting for me. "That's your dirt," Squid said. "You have to dig it up. It's covering up my dirt."

I felt a little dizzy. I could see a small pile of dirt. It took me a moment to realize that it was the dirt which had been on my shovel when I was hit.

I scooped it up and raised it into X-Ray's wheelbarrow. Then Squid dug his shovel into the ground underneath where "my dirt" had been


	8. Digging Into a Forgotten Past

One hundred-ten years ago, Green Lake was one of the most thriving towns in Texas. The lake was the largest lake in the state. It was full of clear, cool water, and sparkled like a giant emerald in the sun.

The town had a picnic every year on the Fourth of July. The people of Green Lake would play games, dance, sing, and swim in the lake to keep cool.

A special prize was given every year to Ms. Katherine Barlow, the town's schoolteacher, for her spiced peaches. It was said that Green Lake, Texas was Heaven on Earth, and that Ms. Katherine's spiced peaches were food for the angels.

Ms. Katherine was a young widow with a small daughter. She had long, curly blonde hair, and taught in a small, one-room schoolhouse. It was the oldest building in the town. The roof leaked, the windows didn't open, and the door hung crooked on its hinges.

Ms. Katherine taught night-school classes filled with young men. Many of those men loved her as well.

One such young man was Trout Wood, the son of the richest family in Green Lake. His real name was Charles Wood, but everyone called him Trout because he was the best fisherman in the town.

Trout was loud and disrespectful. He would often blurt out answers in night school before anyone else could.

One time, when Ms. Katherine asked him to say, "the duck swims on the lake," he said, "the duck may swim on the lake, but I own the lake!" Everyone laughed.

"Want to have a picnic with me?" Trout asked Ms. Katherine after night school. "No thank you, Mr. Wood," said Ms. Katherine.

"We can take a ride on my motorboat," Trout said. "It's brand new, I mean you don't even have to row it."

"No thank you," Ms. Katherine said again. "Come on girl," Trout said. "No one ever says no to Trout Wood."

"I believe I just did," said Ms. Katherine.

Everyone thought Ms. Katherine, the beautiful young widow should marry Trout Wood, because he owned the lake and one half of the town.

But Ms. Katherine was completely opposed to that. She was in love with Sam, the onion picker. He was African American, so everyone was not happy that she was in love with him.

"Onions, get your onions here, folks!" Sam called, as he and his donkey, Mary Lou, pushed the onion cart along Main Street

"Onions have potent juices, and can cure stomach aches, toothaches, Measles, and Mumps," Sam said. "If you don't believe me, just ask Mary Lou. She's almost fifty years old, and all she eats is onions, and she's never been sick a day of her life."

"How do you know, Sam?" Ms. Katherine asked. "You're not a day over thirty."

"Nature's magic vegetable, Ms. Katherine," Sam said.

"Okay children, you can go home now," said Ms. Katherine.

"Is there anything I can fix?" Sam asked.

"The roof on my schoolhouse leaks" said Ms. Katherine.

"I can fix that," said Sam.

Once a week, Sam would row across the lake to the western shore, where his onion farm was, to pick onions to bring to Green Lake. He named his boat after his donkey, Mary Lou.

"Is there anything else I can fix?" Sam asked. "The windows won't open," said Ms. Katherine. "And the children and I would enjoy a breeze now and then.

Sam was not much older than thirty, but townspeople said he had the wisdom of a seventy-year-old man.

Even though he was African American, he was loved by the townspeople. Every other African American in Green Lake was treated unfairly.

Sam had painted the old schoolhouse bright white, covering up every paint chip, built a new roof, and put new windows in. The new windows had bright blue shutters.

"You know, the door doesn't hang straight," said Ms. Katherine. "I can fix that," said Sam.

Sam fixed the hinges on the door, so that it hung straight.

"Sam, this is the finest schoolhouse in Texas," Ms. Katherine said.

Under Sam's skin he was just like Ms. Katherine.

That night, after night school, Sam came to visit Ms. Katherine. Ms. Katherine was so happy about her new schoolhouse she was crying.

She and Sam stood next to window, and kissed. They did not notice Trout Wood as he rode by the schoolhouse on his horse.

Trout screamed. Then he angrily rode away.

Word spread quickly that the young schoolteacher had kissed the African American onion picker.

That night, Ms. Katherine heard commotion coming from the direction of the schoolhouse.

A mob, led my Trout Wood, was throwing torches at the schoolhouse, and firing revolvers into the air.

"Stop it!" Ms. Katherine screamed, tears running down her face.

She ran to the Sheriff's office. "Sheriff!" she shouted. "Sheriff! Come quick, they're destroying my schoolhouse!"

"Give me a kiss," the Sheriff said quietly. "You kissed the onion picker."

"You're drunk!" Ms. Katherine said.

"I always get drunk before a hanging," the Sheriff said.

"If you hang him," Ms. Katherine said. "Then you better hang me also. Because I kissed him back!"

"It's not against the law for a white woman to kiss a negro," the Sheriff said. "Just for a negro to kiss a white woman."

"Sam!" she screamed, running towards the side of the lake. "Sam!"

As Ms. Katherine got to the shore, she looked off to her right, and saw Sam's onion cart, which was lying on the ground, smoldering, and Mary Lou, who was also lying on the ground. The donkey had been shot in the head.

She could see Sam in his rowboat, in the distance, going towards the western shore.

But it wasn't long before she heard the loud roar of Trout Wood's mini steamboat, and saw the smoke from it. It was approaching Sam and his rowboat.

Trout was the only person in his boat. No one else was in it.

Sam had big, strong arms, but not as fast or as strong as Trout's minis steamboat.

Ms. Katherine gasped. "NO!" her shrill cry rang out, into the darkness.

"BANG!"

The shot of a rifle cut through the night.

Ms. Katherine saw Sam fall into his boat.

"Sam!" she groaned, her face still stained with tears.

She continued crying, watching the site of Sam's rowboat, with no one in it.

The morning after Sam's death, Ms. Katherine walked into the Sheriff's office, while he was drinking his cup of coffee.

"Morning, Sheriff," she said. "Mornin', Ms. Katherine," said the Sheriff.

"You still want that kiss?" Ms. Katherine asked the Sheriff.

Ms. Katherine stepped forward, took the Sheriff's revolver from his pocket, and shot him in the chest.

The prisoners in Green Lake jail all looked surprised.

The Sheriff sat dead, on his chair. Ms. Katherine applied a fresh coat of red lipstick, and kissed the Sheriff's left cheek.

Then she went outside, found a horse, and rode away on it.

For the next twenty years, Kissin' Kate Barlow was one of the most notorious outlaws in the West.

But that all happened a hundred-ten years ago. Since then, not one drop of rain has fallen onto the lake.

Green Lake is no longer the boom town that it once was, the eastern shore of the lake is a half-mile east of where it used to be, and the lake's water is murky and warm. It is supplied by Green Lake's water tower.


	9. Chapter 9

"Listen up," Mrs. Ma'am began as all of the boys from Tent D stood around the porch of the Rec Room. "After the behavior exhibited these last few days, the Warden and I have decided that your character building would be best served by returning to the digging of individual holes."

Mrs. Ma'am led us down to a different section of the desert, and we each dug a five-foot hole like normal.

It was a relief not to have the other shovels swinging past my face, or the Warden hanging around. "

I'm so glad the Warden isn't watching us anymore," I told the either boys.

"I still can't believe he stabbed Magnet with that pitchfork," Armpit said. "Yea, it hurt," Magnet said.

If I turned my head, I felt a throbbing pain where Squid's shovel had hit me. That part of my head, just below my right ear and above my neck, was considerably swollen.

There were no mirrors at camp, but I must have looked like I had a hard-boiled egg sticking out of the right side of my head.

Two days later, Mrs. Ma'am came to fill our canteens at 3:00 pm, while we were digging. Magnet stole her sack of Peanut Butter M&Ms from the water truck.

"Anybody want some Peanut Butter M&Ms?" he called out, while Mrs. Ma'am drove. "I can't help it man, my hands are like magnets." He threw it to Zigzag, who threw it into my hole. "Oh, butterfingers," said Zigzag. "The truck's coming back!" Magnet yelled. I looked up, and sure enough, Mrs. Ma'am was turning around, the radio blaring loudly. We covered the sack with dirt, but the top was still sticking out, some of the M&Ms too.

Mrs. Ma'am got out of the truck. She walked towards my hole and stopped in-between Armpit and Squids' holes. "Well, well," she said, pointing to the sack. "This appears to be one of my peanut butter M&M sacks. May I ask what is it doing in your hole?"

"What?" I asked. "What is it doing in your hole?" she repeats in a low growl. "Did it fall from the sky? Huh?" "I stole that out of your truck," I said. "I think maybe the Warden like to see what you found, follow me," she said, taking the sack out of the hole. She and I drove to the Warden's Cabin in her truck.

Mrs. Ma'am knocked on the cabin door. "What?" came a voice from inside. "I found a little something in Caveman's hole," Mrs. Ma'am said. "What'd you find?" asked the voice. "Come on in I suppose." Mrs. Ma'am and I walked into the cabin.

I loved the fact that it was air-conditioned. The Warden sat on his couch. His stereo was playing a CD. He reached over and turned it off.

"Tell him," said Mrs. Ma'am. I took a deep breath. "Well, Mrs. Ma'am was filling our canteens and I snuck into the water truck and stole her Peanut Butter M&Ms," I said.

"Caveman, would you go get me that little brass case with my nail polish in it," he said, pointing to his bureau. I brought the case over to him. The nail polish was the same color as his fingernails. "Come over here, kid," he said, pointing to a chair at the table he was sitting at.

"See this, Caveman?" he asked. "This is my _special _nail polish. I make it myself. You wanna know my secret ingredient? Rattlesnake venom. I just love what it does to the color. It's perfectly harmless, when it's dry."

He began applying the polish to the nails on his left hand. He shook it in the air and waited a few seconds. He then began painting the nails on his right hand.

He ran the fingertips of his left hand gently across my right cheek. I felt my skin tingle. I nearly slap his hand away, but don't have the courage to.

The nail on his pinkie just barely touched the wound below my ear. A sharp sting of pain caused me to jump back.

I then noticed posters of Kissin' Kate Barlow on the Warden's wall, and suddenly realized where I'd seen the gold tube before. I was pretty sure it was a lipstick tube. _K.B._! My mouth slowly formed the name Kate Barlow. Could it really have belonged to the kissing outlaw?

"So, you think he stole your Peanut Butter M&M's?" he asked Mrs. Ma'am. "No," said Mrs. Ma'am. "I think he's covering for one of the other boys. It was a five-pound sack, and he claims to have eaten it all." "There's a lot in my hole, you can check that," I said. "Oh, I will," said Mrs. Ma'am. "I will check it."

Suddenly, the Warden struck Mrs. Ma'am across her face with his right hand, the nail polish still wet.

There were two long, red marks slanting down the left side of Mrs. Ma'am's face. I wasn't sure if the redness was caused by her blood or the Warden's nail polish.

It took a few seconds for the venom to sink in. Suddenly, she screamed, clutched the left side of her face with both hands, and fell backwards over an armchair, knocking it over.

She was writhing around in pain and kicking her feet.

I saw pictures of the campers on the Warden's refrigerator. I even saw mine. It was my mugshot.

"Jack," Mrs. Ma'am cried out in despair. "Why? WHY?" She must have said "why" about twenty times.

"I liked you better when you smoked," the Warden said.

Mrs. Ma'am let out a shrill scream, worse than the one before. "Is she…? I asked. "Excuse me?" the Warden demanded. I was too frightened to speak. "She's not going to die," the Warden said. "Unfortunately for you. I suggest you go back to your hole now." "Yes sir," I gasped.

I went outside, slamming the door behind me, and could still hear Mrs. Ma'am's screams. I started my walk back to my hole, and pelted around the old chemists, which was now the infirmary.

Walking back to where Tent D was digging, I thought about how I had not expected anything like that to happen. Rattlesnake venom in nail polish? Who the hell does that? I remembered how I'd felt the slight, unpleasant sting of it when the Warden ran his fingernails lightly across my cheek, but I knew that it had been nowhere near as painful as that vicious slap that he had given Mrs. Ma'am for waisting his time about the Peanut Butter M&Ms.

"_She's not going to die_," the Warden had said. "_Unfortunately for you."_

Zero had dug my hole for me. "Hey Zero, why'd you dig my hole for me, man?" I asked. "You didn't steal the Peanut Butter M&Ms," said Zero. I got in my hole.

"Remember that gold tube?" I asked Zero. Zero nodded. "I think that the tube was a tube of lipstick, you know? And _K.B._ stands for Kate Barlow. "Kissin' Kate Barlow?" Zero asked. "Yep, Kissin' Kate Barlow," I repeated.

"I'll dig your hole if you teach me how to read," said Zero. I said I agreed with that.

Shortly after I got back to the digging site, Dr. Pendanski came with water and lunch. I frowned at her while I was getting my cookie. "Is Mrs. Ma'am OK?" I asked quietly.

Dr. Pendanski sighed. "She'll be fine," she said. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes, she's not going to die," Pendanski repeated.

Later that day, we went to the Mess Hall for dinner. Mrs. Ma'am was in charge of serving oatmeal. I heard her talking about the price of onions. And she was quite a sight.

I tried not to wince when I saw her face, the left side swollen to the size of half a cantaloupe and mottled red, purple, and even a tinged blue-green, with two dark-purple jagged lines running across her cheek where the Warden had scratched her.

It must have felt even worse than it looked, and I couldn't help but feel eternally grateful that the Warden hadn't done the same to me.

As the boys were served, no one even dared to look at Mrs. Ma'am's face. They knew better than to say anything, or stare at her. As she served me my oatmeal, I kept my head down.

"What happened to her?" Zero whispered, as we were walking back to our table. I just shrugged my shoulders.

Squid, being the ignorant boy that he was, stared at Mrs. Ma'am's face while she was serving him his oatmeal and asked in his thick Texan accent, "Whoa! What happened to your face?" Not a good thing to ask.

"Squid, never ask that!" X-Ray called out.

There was a crash. "Something wrong with my face?" Mrs. Ma'am demanded. "Huh?"

I turned to see Mrs. Ma'am holding Squid against the oatmeal pot. "No," Squid gasped, staring in horror at the gashes in Mrs. Ma'am's cheek. "No, Mrs. Ma'am."

"You've got that right," Mrs. Ma'am muttered, then throwing Squid backwards, Squid knocking over a trash can. His head banged against a table.

She got out, in front of the counter. "Anyone see anything wrong with my face?" she asked. "Huh? I think I'm kinda purdy, don't you?" "Yes, Mrs. Ma'am," we all said.

"I think we just learned a valuable lesson," Dr. Pendanski said. "We're all people. And Mrs. Ma'am is a very sensitive woman. We don't want to upset her again."

I saw Mrs. Ma'am in a room next door, throwing things around in anger.

That night, there was a change in the weather. Storms never made it past the mountains on the other side of the lake. It never rained at Camp Green Lake. I looked outside the tent window. Every few seconds, lightning would flash, and the dark shape of the mountains would appear. Then the horizon lit up with a huge flash of lightning. In that split second I thought I saw an unusual rock formation on top of one of the mountains. It looked to me exactly like a giant fist, with the thumb sticking up. Then it was gone. And I still wasn't completely sure if I'd seen it or not. _"I found refuge on God's Thumb."_ That's what my great-grandfather had supposedly said after Kate Barlow had robbed him, killed his first wife, and left him stranded in the desert. "What's God's Thumb?" I asked my grandfather. "Who knows?" said my grandfather. "He was half crazy when I found him." Somehow he managed to survive for 16 days in the desert, before two rattlesnake hunters found him. He spent a month in the hospital and fell in love with one of the nurses. He eventually married her, and she was my great-grandmother. I went to bed, the image of the fist and thumb remaining in my head. Although, in my mind, instead of lightning flashing behind the thumb, to me it was coming out of the thumb, as if it were the thumb of God.

Three days had passed since the Warden scratched Mrs. Ma'am. Every time Mrs. Ma'am delivered water, she would pour mine onto the ground, forming a puddle. She did that because it was my fault the Warden scratched her.

Fortunately, Dr. Pendanski delivered water more frequently than Mrs. Ma'am. She was obviously aware of what Mrs. Ma'am was doing to me, because every time she filled our canteens, she would always give me a little extra water. She would fill my canteen, I would take a long drink, then she would top it off.

The other boys had obviously seen Mrs. Ma'am's face, but were smart enough not to ask her about it. When the other boys in my tent asked me about it, I just said, "who knows?"

The next day, I was letting Zero dig in my hole with me. X-Ray and Squid came up. "Yo, Caveman," X-Ray said. "It should be kinda easy working with you own personal slave and all that." Squid threw dirt into my hole.

Later that day, I was teaching Zero to read and spell words. When he was learning how to spell Zero, he said, "you know, Zero's not my real name." "It's not?" I asked, surprised. "But even Pendanski calls you Zero." "My name's Hector," he said. "Hector Zeroni."

_Zeroni_?! Like Madame Zeroni, the gypsy who cursed my no-good-dirty-rotten-cow-stealing-great-great-gran dfather!

"Nice to meet you Hector," I said, shaking his hand.


End file.
